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Throughout history many groups of people have been the target of persecution by a much larger or more dominant group often the common people Among these groups are or were blacks the disabled women children the elderly and members of other religions In John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men three characters were regarded as outcasts by the majority of workers on the ranch Lennie mentally disabled Candy an elder and amputee and Crooks a blackIn the time frame in which the novella is set a mentally disabled person was often seen by others as incapacitated retarded and a waste of the caregivers time In Lennies case he was first seen as useless but when he was put to work he was doing a much better job than most others around him However his child-like mentality caused several problems he very rarely remembered what people told him he became fixated on one subject rabbits and he became confused or clueless as to what to do if he heard someone scream or yell This explains how he accidentally killed Curleys wife In the end as previously foreshadowed George grew sick of dragging Lennie around and eventually shot himThe reason for amputees being labeled as outcasts is obvious they are missing limbs which makes them useless in some fields of employment including farming one where many people lose hands or arms Candy is the ranchs amputee but the reader does not know whether or not his disability was caused by a farming accident Being an amputee Candy was given a somewhat degrading job compared to others pushing a broom Not only are humans targeted but Candys dog is also considered an outcast due to his age odour and physical strength Eventually Slim shot Candys dog putting an end to its painFor decades blacks were the largest minority group in the United States and it wasnt until the 1960s that blacks were officially recognized as persons in the US

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